The Secret Warriors
by ShadowIvywood
Summary: Book 1 of Vanguard Arc Project Freelancer had a secret black-ops team. It consisted of an assassin for hire, three ODSTs, two mercenaries, and a hacker. They met new threats and performed dangerous and deadly missions. This is their story


**Chapter One**

The sounds of blades clashing echoed throughout the complex.  
"Are you sure that this was a good idea?" One woman asks her friend as they swing their blades at each other.  
"Of course!" The friend laughs, catching the first woman on the cheek with her blade. "Jesus Christ Rae! I'm sorry!" She immediately dropped her weapons and crouched down to check on Rae, whom was lying down on the ground, nursing her bleeding face. The woman turned Rae over, only for Rae to place her sword against her chest.  
"I win." She laughed, as she kipped up to her feet. The woman smacked Rae on her good cheek. "What was that for?"  
"For making me think I'd really hurt you!"  
"Faith, you know it would take a hell of a lot more to take me down." Faith's eyes trailed to Rae's limbs, three of which were prosthetic.  
"Yeah. You're right." Faith conceded.

Rae had short black hair which more often than not covered over her left eye, bright grey eyes, and many a scar across her face. Rae wore a bandage on her nose at all times, and had a piercing through her tongue. She wore a black T-shirt, a purple jacket, and a pair of jeans. She was also covered in tattoos starting below her neck and ending at her ankles. Blood slowly trickled down her right cheek. She was around 5 and a half feet tall. Faith, on the other hand, had light brown hair tied in a ponytail, green eyes, an old scar running down her left cheek. She wore a red shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of well-worn combat boots. She was also very muscular, and stood at almost seven feet tall.

There was a knock at the door to the training room that they were in.  
"It's open!" Faith shouted to whomever was knocking. A man came in.  
"Hey, Danny." Rae gave a wave as she applied a large plaster to her face. Daniel had dark skin and black hair. He had bright brown eyes and a clean shaven face. He wore a dark green vest, and a white jacket. He also wore black trousers and gold earrings. He was around six feet tall.  
"We're wanted." Daniel told them.  
"Where?" Faith asked immediately.  
"Planning Room." Daniel answered, and all three of the people in the room ran out to head said room.

In the Planning Room, the trio were greeted by two more people. One was a middle-aged man with grey hair and some stubble of a beard. He wore glasses and had blue eyes. He wore a black T-shirt and black trousers. He was also rather tall, being slightly shorter than Faith. The other man had dark skin, very short, black hair, brown eyes, and wore a black and grey single piece outfit. The two men were talking, the older man speaking with a coarse voice, and the other man speaking in a very calm tone.  
"You called for us, Stevens?" Stevens was their Commanding Officer of the groups Special Ops squad. One other man was a part of it. They were Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or ODSTs. Nicknamed Helljumpers, they used special pods to insert themselves into dangerous battlefields when regular dropships would be too dangerous. They were a part of a special team formed by Stevens, whom had identified certain soldiers, whom would work well in a small task force of Helljumpers for eliminating priority targets without having to send the entire army.  
"Yeah. I have been in contact with another sector of the military," Stevens gestured to the other man, "Project Freelancer."  
"May I take it from here?" The other man requested. Stevens sighed, and then nodded, "Project Freelancer is a small division of the UNSC to ensure humanity's survival."  
"Do you run this Project?" Daniel inquired.  
"No, I am the Counselor for Project Freelancer. There is another man, the Director, who runs everything. He is much too busy for this, unfortunately."  
"What do you want?" Faith raised an eyebrow at the Counselor.  
"We wish to invite you to join us. We are forming a small team for doing jobs similar to what you do already. The people on this team may not have the cleanest record, but they would be optimal for this team."  
"Anything else we need to know?" Daniel asked.  
"The pay's fantastic." The Counselor shrugged.  
"What do you think, Stevens?" Faith asked.  
"Honestly? Take it. I've had a look at their track record and they seem quite good."  
"Are you sure?" Rae asked.  
"Yeah."  
"Then what do we do?" Faith asked.  
"Get your gear together, and then we'll go now, if that would work for you." The Counselor looked at Stevens, who nodded.


End file.
